Ultrasonic surgical instrument with slidable flexing activation member

ABSTRACT

An ultrasonic instrument for use during a surgical procedure includes a body, a shaft assembly, an ultrasonic blade, and an actuation assembly. The body is configured to receive an ultrasonic transducer for selectively generating a first or a second predetermined oscillation. The shaft assembly projects from the body and includes an acoustic waveguide connected to the ultrasonic blade. The actuation assembly includes an activator ring and an activation mechanism. The activator ring is selectively movable along the body such that the activator ring is accessible to be gripped by an operator around an entirety of an outer circumferential surface of the activator ring. The activation mechanism is connected to the activator ring such that the activation mechanism selectively moves along the body in conjunction with the activator ring. At least a portion of the activation mechanism is configured to selectively direct the ultrasonic transducer to oscillate the ultrasonic blade.

BACKGROUND

A variety of surgical instruments include an end effector having a bladeelement that vibrates at ultrasonic frequencies to cut and/or sealtissue (e.g., by denaturing proteins in tissue cells). These instrumentsinclude one or more piezoelectric elements that convert electrical powerinto ultrasonic vibrations, which are communicated along an acousticwaveguide to the blade element. The precision of cutting and coagulationmay be controlled by the operator's technique and adjusting the powerlevel, blade edge angle, tissue traction, and blade pressure.

Examples of ultrasonic surgical instruments include the HARMONIC ACE®Ultrasonic Shears, the HARMONIC WAVE® Ultrasonic Shears, the HARMONICFOCUS® Ultrasonic Shears, and the HARMONIC SYNERGY® Ultrasonic Blades,all by Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. of Cincinnati, Ohio. Further examplesof such devices and related concepts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,322,055, entitled “Clamp Coagulator/Cutting System for UltrasonicSurgical Instruments,” issued Jun. 21, 1994, the disclosure of which isincorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,873, entitled“Ultrasonic Clamp Coagulator Apparatus Having Improved Clamp Mechanism,”issued Feb. 23, 1999, the disclosure of which is incorporated byreference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,510, entitled “Ultrasonic ClampCoagulator Apparatus Having Improved Clamp Arm Pivot Mount,” issued Nov.9, 1999, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein;U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,981, entitled “Method of Balancing AsymmetricUltrasonic Surgical Blades,” issued Sep. 4, 2001, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 6,309,400,entitled “Curved Ultrasonic Blade having a Trapezoidal Cross Section,”issued Oct. 30, 2001, the disclosure of which is incorporated byreference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 6,325,811, entitled “Blades withFunctional Balance Asymmetries for use with Ultrasonic SurgicalInstruments,” issued Dec. 4, 2001, the disclosure of which isincorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 6,423,082, entitled“Ultrasonic Surgical Blade with Improved Cutting and CoagulationFeatures,” issued Jul. 23, 2002, the disclosure of which is incorporatedby reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 6,773,444, entitled “Blades withFunctional Balance Asymmetries for Use with Ultrasonic SurgicalInstruments,” issued Aug. 10, 2004, the disclosure of which isincorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 6,783,524, entitled“Robotic Surgical Tool with Ultrasound Cauterizing and CuttingInstrument,” issued Aug. 31, 2004, the disclosure of which isincorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 8,057,498, entitled“Ultrasonic Surgical Instrument Blades,” issued Nov. 15, 2011, thedisclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No.8,461,744, entitled “Rotating Transducer Mount for Ultrasonic SurgicalInstruments,” issued Jun. 11, 2013, the disclosure of which isincorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 8,591,536, entitled“Ultrasonic Surgical Instrument Blades,” issued Nov. 26, 2013, thedisclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; and U.S. Pat.No. 8,623,027, entitled “Ergonomic Surgical Instruments,” issued Jan. 7,2014, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

Still further examples of ultrasonic surgical instruments are disclosedin U.S. Pub. No. 2006/0079874, entitled “Tissue Pad for Use with anUltrasonic Surgical Instrument,” published Apr. 13, 2006, now abandoned,the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pub.No. 2007/0191713, entitled “Ultrasonic Device for Cutting andCoagulating,” published Aug. 16, 2007, now abandoned, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pub. No. 2007/0282333,entitled “Ultrasonic Waveguide and Blade,” published Dec. 6, 2007, nowabandoned, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein;U.S. Pub. No. 2008/0200940, entitled “Ultrasonic Device for Cutting andCoagulating,” published Aug. 21, 2008, now abandoned, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pub. No. 2008/0234710,entitled “Ultrasonic Surgical Instruments,” published Sep. 25, 2008,issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,911,460 on Dec. 16, 2014, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated by reference herein; and U.S. Pub. No.2010/0069940, entitled “Ultrasonic Device for Fingertip Control,”published Mar. 18, 2010, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,023,071 on May 5,2015, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

Some ultrasonic surgical instruments may include a cordless transducersuch as that disclosed in U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0112687, entitled “RechargeSystem for Medical Devices,” published May 10, 2012, issued as U.S. Pat.No. 9,381,058 on Jul. 5, 2016, the disclosure of which is incorporatedby reference herein; U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0116265, entitled “SurgicalInstrument with Charging Devices,” published May 10, 2012, nowabandoned, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein;and/or U.S. Pat. App. No. 61/410,603, filed Nov. 5, 2010, entitled“Energy-Based Surgical Instruments,” the disclosure of which isincorporated by reference herein.

Additionally, some ultrasonic surgical instruments may include anarticulating shaft section. Examples of such ultrasonic surgicalinstruments are disclosed in U.S. Pub. No. 2014/0005701, published Jan.2, 2014, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,393,037 on Jul, 19, 2016, entitled“Surgical Instruments with Articulating Shafts,” the disclosure of whichis incorporated by reference herein; and U.S. Pub. No. 2014/0114334,published Apr. 24, 2014, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,095,367 on Aug. 4,2015, entitled “Flexible Harmonic Waveguides/Blades for SurgicalInstruments,” the disclosure of which is incorporated by referenceherein.

While several surgical instruments and systems have been made and used,it is believed that no one prior to the inventors has made or used theinvention described in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While the specification concludes with claims which particularly pointout and distinctly claim this technology, it is believed this technologywill be better understood from the following description of certainexamples taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in whichlike reference numerals identify the same elements and in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of an exemplary surgical instrument;

FIG. 2 depicts a top view of a handle assembly of the surgicalinstrument of FIG. 1, with an actuation assembly in a neutral position;

FIG. 3A depicts a top view of an inactivated handle assembly of thesurgical instrument of FIG. 1, with the actuation assembly in a maximumpower position and in a non-actuated state;

FIG. 3B depicts a top view of an activated handle assembly of thesurgical instrument of FIG. 1, with the actuation assembly in themaximum power position and in an actuated state;

FIG. 4A depicts a top view of an inactivated handle assembly of thesurgical instrument of FIG. 1, with the actuation assembly in a minimumpower position and in a non-actuated state;

FIG. 4B depicts a top view of an activated handle assembly of thesurgical instrument of FIG. 1, with the actuation assembly in theminimum power position and in an actuated state;

FIG. 5 depicts a top view of a handle assembly of another exemplarysurgical instrument; and

FIG. 6 depicts a cross-sectional view of the surgical instrument of FIG.5 taken along section line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

The drawings are not intended to be limiting in any way, and it iscontemplated that various embodiments of the technology may be carriedout in a variety of other ways, including those not necessarily depictedin the drawings. The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming apart of the specification illustrate several aspects of the presenttechnology, and together with the description serve to explain theprinciples of the technology; it being understood, however, that thistechnology is not limited to the precise arrangements shown.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description of certain examples of the technology shouldnot be used to limit its scope. Other examples, features, aspects,embodiments, and advantages of the technology will become apparent tothose skilled in the art from the following description, which is by wayof illustration, one of the best modes contemplated for carrying out thetechnology. As will be realized, the technology described herein iscapable of other different and obvious aspects, all without departingfrom the technology. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions shouldbe regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive.

It is further understood that any one or more of the teachings,expressions, embodiments, examples, etc. described herein may becombined with any one or more of the other teachings, expressions,embodiments, examples, etc. that are described herein. Thefollowing-described teachings, expressions, embodiments, examples, etc.should therefore not be viewed in isolation relative to each other.Various suitable ways in which the teachings herein may be combined willbe readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of theteachings herein. Such modifications and variations are intended to beincluded within the scope of the claims.

For clarity of disclosure, the terms “proximal” and “distal” are definedherein relative to an operator or other operator grasping a surgicalinstrument having a distal surgical end effector. The term “proximal”refers the position of an element closer to the operator or otheroperator and the term “distal” refers to the position of an elementcloser to the surgical end effector of the surgical instrument andfurther away from the operator or other operator.

I. Overview of Exemplary Ultrasonic Surgical System

FIG. 1 shows components of an exemplary surgical system (10). As shown,the surgical system (10) comprises an ultrasonic generator (12) and anultrasonic surgical instrument (14). As will be described in greaterdetail below, the surgical instrument (14) is operable to cut tissue andseal or weld tissue (e.g., a blood vessel, etc.) substantiallysimultaneously, using ultrasonic vibrational energy. The generator (12)and the surgical instrument (14) are coupled together via a cable (16).The cable (16) may comprise a plurality of wires; and may provideunidirectional electrical communication from the generator (12) to thesurgical instrument (14) and/or bidirectional electrical communicationbetween the generator (12) and the surgical instrument (14). By way ofexample only, the cable (16) may comprise a “hot” wire for electricalpower to the surgical instrument (14), a ground wire, and a signal wirefor transmitting signals from the surgical instrument (14) to theultrasonic generator (12), with a shield surrounding the three wires. Insome versions, separate “hot” wires are used for separate activationvoltages (e.g., one “hot” wire for a first activation voltage andanother “hot” wire for a second activation voltage, or a variablevoltage between the wires proportional to the power requested, etc.). Ofcourse, any other suitable number or configuration of wires may be used.It should also be understood that some versions of the surgical system(10) may incorporate the generator (12) into the surgical instrument(14), such that the cable (16) may simply be omitted.

By way of example only, the ultrasonic generator (12) may comprise theGEN04, GEN11, or GEN 300 sold by Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. ofCincinnati, Ohio. In addition or in the alternative, the ultrasonicgenerator (12) may be constructed in accordance with at least some ofthe teachings of U.S. Pub. No. 2011/0087212, entitled “SurgicalGenerator for Ultrasonic and Electrosurgical Devices,” published Apr.14, 2011, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,986,302 on Mar. 24, 2015, thedisclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. Alternatively,any other suitable generators may be used. As will be described ingreater detail below, the ultrasonic generator (12) is operable toprovide power to the surgical instrument (14) to perform ultrasonicsurgical procedures.

The surgical instrument (14) comprises a handpiece (18), which isconfigured to be grasped in one hand (or two hands) of an operator andmanipulated by one hand (or two hands) of the operator during a surgicalprocedure. For instance, in some versions, the handpiece (18) may begrasped like a pencil by the operator. In some other versions, thehandpiece (18) may include a scissor grip that may be grasped likescissors by the operator. In some other versions, the handpiece (18) mayinclude a pistol grip that may be grasped like a pistol by the operator.Of course, the handpiece (18) may be configured to be gripped in anyother suitable fashion. Furthermore, some versions of the surgicalinstrument (14) may substitute the handpiece (18) with an alternativebody (not shown) coupled to a robotic surgical system (not shown)configured to operate an alternative instrument, such as by remotecontrol. In the present example, a blade (20) extends distally from thehandpiece (18). The handpiece (18) includes an ultrasonic transducer(21) and an ultrasonic waveguide (22), which couples the ultrasonictransducer (21) with the blade (20). The ultrasonic transducer (21)receives electrical power from the generator (12) via the cable (14)and, by virtue of its piezoelectric properties, the ultrasonictransducer (21) converts such electrical power into ultrasonicvibrational energy. When the ultrasonic transducer (21) of the presentexample is activated, these mechanical oscillations are transmittedthrough the waveguide (22) to reach the blade (20), thereby providingoscillation of the blade (20) at the resonant ultrasonic frequency.Thus, the ultrasonic oscillation of the blade (20) may simultaneouslysever the tissue and denature the proteins in adjacent tissue cells,thereby providing a coagulative effect with relatively little thermalspread. In some versions, an electrical current may also be providedthrough the blade (20) to also cauterize the tissue.

By way of example only, the ultrasonic waveguide (22) and the blade (20)may comprise components sold under product codes SNGHK and SNGCB byEthicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. of Cincinnati, Ohio. By way of furtherexample only, the ultrasonic waveguide (22) and/or the blade (20) may beconstructed and operable in accordance with the teachings of U.S. Pat.No. 6,423,082, entitled “Ultrasonic Surgical Blade with Improved Cuttingand Coagulation Features,” issued Jul. 23, 2002, the disclosure of whichis incorporated by reference herein. As another merely illustrativeexample, the ultrasonic waveguide (22) and/or the blade (20) may beconstructed and operable in accordance with the teachings of U.S. Pat.No. 5,324,299, entitled “Ultrasonic Scalpel Blade and Methods ofApplication,” issued Jun. 28, 1994, the disclosure of which isincorporated by reference herein. Other suitable properties andconfigurations of the ultrasonic waveguide (22) and the blade (20) willbe apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of theteachings herein.

The handpiece (18) of the present example also includes an actuationassembly (23) in communication with a circuit board (not shown). By wayof example only, the circuit board (not shown) may comprise aconventional printed circuit board, a flex circuit, a rigid-flexcircuit, or may have any other suitable configuration. The actuationassembly (23) may be in communication with the circuit board (not shown)via one or more wires, traces formed in a circuit board or flex circuit,and/or in any other suitable fashion. The actuation assembly (23) isoperable to selectively direct power from the generator (12) to theultrasonic transducer (21) for operating the blade (20).

In the present example, the surgical system (10) is operable to provideat least two different levels or types of ultrasonic energy (e.g.,different frequencies and/or amplitudes, etc.) at the blade (20). Tothat end, the actuation assembly (23) is operable to permit the operatorto select a desired, predetermined oscillation of ultrasonic energy.

It should be understood that the predetermined oscillations provided atthe blade (20) may be a function of characteristics of the electricalpower communicated from the generator (12) to the surgical instrument(14) via the cable (16). Thus, the control circuitry (not shown) of thegenerator (12) may provide electrical power (via cable (16)) havingcharacteristics associated with the ultrasonic energy level/amplitude ortype selected through the actuation assembly (23). The generator (12)may thus be operable to communicate different types or degrees ofelectrical power to the ultrasonic transducer (21), in accordance withselections made by the operator via the actuation assembly (23). Inparticular, and by way of example only, the generator (12) may increasethe voltage and/or current of the applied signal to increase thelongitudinal amplitude of the acoustic assembly. As a merelyillustrative example, the generator (12) may provide selectabilitybetween a maximum level and a minimum level, which may correspond with ablade vibrational resonance amplitude of approximately 50 microns andapproximately 90 microns, respectively. Of course, it will beappreciated that other levels between and/or beyond maximum and minimummay be incorporated into the surgical instrument (18), as well.

In other examples, control circuitry (not shown) is located within thehandpiece (18). For instance, the generator (12) may only communicateone type of electrical power (e.g., just one voltage and/or currentavailable) to the handpiece (18) such that the control circuitry (notshown) within the handpiece (18) is operable to modify the electricalpower (e.g., the voltage of the electrical power), in accordance withselections made by the operator, before the electrical power reaches theultrasonic transducer (21). Furthermore, the generator (12) may beincorporated into the handpiece (18) along with all other components ofthe surgical system (10). For instance, one or more batteries (notshown) or other portable sources of power may be provided in thehandpiece (18). Still other suitable ways in which the componentsdepicted in FIG. 1 may be rearranged or otherwise configured or modifiedwill be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of theteachings herein.

II. Overview of Exemplary Ultrasonic Surgical Instrument

The following discussion relates to various exemplary components andconfigurations for the surgical instrument (14). It should be understoodthat the various examples of the surgical instrument (14) describedbelow may be readily incorporated into the surgical system (10), asdescribed above, or alternative surgical systems. It should also beunderstood that the various components and operability of the surgicalinstrument (14) described above may be readily incorporated into theexemplary versions of the surgical instrument (14) described below.Various suitable ways in which the above and below teachings may becombined will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in viewof the teachings herein. It should also be understood that the belowteachings may be readily combined with the various teachings of thereferences that are cited herein.

FIGS. 1-3 illustrate the exemplary ultrasonic surgical instrument (14).At least part of the surgical instrument (14) may be constructed andoperable in accordance with at least some of the teachings of U.S. Pat.No. 5,322,055; U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,873; U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,510; U.S.Pat. No. 6,325,811; U.S. Pat. No. 6,773,444; U.S. Pat. No. 6,783,524;U.S. Pat. No. 8,461,744; U.S. Pub. No. 2009/0105750, issued as U.S. Pat.No. 8,623,027 on Jan. 7, 2014; U.S. Pub. No. 2006/0079874, nowabandoned; U.S. Pub. No. 2007/0191713, now abandoned; U.S. Pub. No.2007/0282333, now abandoned; U.S. Pub. No. 2008/0200940, now abandoned;U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0069940, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,023,071 on May 5,2015; U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0112687, issued as U.S. Pat. 9,381,058 on Jul.5, 2016; U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0116265, now abandoned; U.S. Pub. No.2014/0005701, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,393,037 on Jul. 19, 2016; U.S.Pat. Pub. No. 2014/0114334, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,095,367 on Aug 4,2015; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/028,717, issued as U.S. Pat.No. 10,172,636 on Jan. 8, 2019; and/or U.S. Pat. App. No. 61/410,603.The disclosures of each of the foregoing patents, publications, andapplications are incorporated by reference herein. As described thereinand as will be described in greater detail below, the surgicalinstrument (14) is operable to cut tissue and seal or weld tissuesubstantially simultaneously. It should also be understood that thesurgical instrument (14) may have various structural and functionalsimilarities with the HARMONIC ACE® Ultrasonic Shears, the HARMONICWAVE® Ultrasonic Shears, the HARMONIC FOCUS® Ultrasonic Shears, and/orthe HARMONIC SYNERGY® Ultrasonic Blades. Furthermore, the surgicalinstrument (14) may have various structural and functional similaritieswith the devices taught in any of the other references that are citedand incorporated by reference herein.

To the extent that there is some degree of overlap between the teachingsof the references cited herein, the HARMONIC ACE® Ultrasonic Shears, theHARMONIC WAVE® Ultrasonic Shears, the HARMONIC FOCUS® Ultrasonic Shears,and/or the HARMONIC SYNERGY® Ultrasonic Blades, and the followingteachings relating to the surgical instrument (14), there is no intentfor any of the description herein to be presumed as admitted prior art.Several teachings herein will in fact go beyond the scope of theteachings of the references cited herein and the HARMONIC ACE®Ultrasonic Shears, the HARMONIC WAVE® Ultrasonic Shears, the HARMONICFOCUS® Ultrasonic Shears, and the HARMONIC SYNERGY® Ultrasonic Blades.

The surgical instrument (14) is configured to be used as a scalpel. Asshown in FIGS. 1-2, the surgical instrument (14) of this examplecomprises a handle assembly (24), a shaft assembly (26), an end effector(28), and the actuating assembly (23). In the present example, aproximal end of the surgical instrument (14) operatively connects to theultrasonic transducer (21) by insertion of the ultrasonic transducer(21) into the handle assembly (24). The handle assembly (24) receivesthe ultrasonic transducer (21) such that the ultrasonic transducer (21)couples to the waveguide (22) in the shaft assembly (26) by a threadedconnection, though any other suitable connection for such coupling maybe used. As shown in FIGS. 1-2, the surgical instrument (14) may becoupled with the ultrasonic transducer (12) to form a single unit.

A. Exemplary Shaft Assembly and End Effector

As best seen in FIGS. 1-2, the shaft assembly (26) comprises an outersheath (30) with the waveguide (22) disposed within the outer sheath(30). In some versions, the outer sheath (30) and the waveguide (22) aresized to fit through a trocar or other minimally invasive access port,such that the surgical instrument (14) may be used in a minimallyinvasive surgical procedure. The waveguide (22) is configured totransmit ultrasonic vibrations from the ultrasonic transducer (21) tothe blade (20). By way of example only, the shaft assembly (26), the endeffector (28), and the waveguide (22) may be constructed in accordancewith at least some of the teachings of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/337,508, entitled “Ultrasonic Blade Overmold,” filed Jul. 22, 2014,issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,750,521 on Sep. 5, 2017, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated by reference herein.

The surgical instrument (14) lacks a clamp arm in this example, suchthat surgical instrument (14) is configured for use as an ultrasonicscalpel for simultaneously slicing and cauterizing tissue. Instead, theend effector (28) merely consists of the blade (20) that may be used forsimultaneously slicing and cauterizing tissue. In some alternativeversions, including but not limited to those described below, the endeffector (28) may include a clamp arm (not shown) that may be used tocompress tissue against the blade (20) to assist in grasping, sealing,and/or cutting the tissue. Such a clamp arm (not shown) may be removablycoupled to surgical instrument (14). By way of example only, theremovable clamp arm (not shown) may be provided in accordance with atleast some of the teachings of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/488,330, entitled “Ultrasonic Surgical Instrument with RemovableClamp Arm,” filed Sep. 17, 2014, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,058,346 onAug. 28, 2018, the disclosure of which is incorporated by referenceherein. Alternatively, a clamp arm may be provided in any other suitablefashion.

B. Exemplary Handle Assembly

As best seen in FIGS. 1-2, the handle assembly (24) comprises a torquingmechanism (31), which includes a rotation knob (32), and a tubularelongate body (34). The torquing mechanism (31) is configured to limitthe amount of torque that can be applied between the shaft assembly (26)and the ultrasonic transducer (21) and will be discussed below inadditional detail. The elongate body (34) is configured to permit a userto grip the handle assembly (24) from a variety of positions, while theuser operates the actuation assembly (23) of the handpiece (18) fromthese respective positions. The exemplary actuation assembly (23) willbe discussed below in additional detail.

By way of example only, the handle assembly (24) may be shaped to begrasped and manipulated in a pencil-grip arrangement, in ascrewdriver-grip arrangement, and/or in any other suitable fashion. Theelongate body (34) of the present example comprises a pair of matinghousing portions (36, 38), though it should be understood that thehandle assembly (24) may alternatively comprise just a single housingcomponent. The housing portions (36, 38) may be constructed from adurable plastic, such as polycarbonate or a liquid crystal polymer. Itis also contemplated that the housing portions (36, 38) mayalternatively be made from a variety of materials or combinations ofmaterials, including but not limited to other plastics, ceramics, and/ormetals, etc.

In the present example, the elongate body (34) of the handle assembly(24) includes a proximal end, a distal end, and a cavity (not shown)extending longitudinally therein. The cavity (not shown) is configuredto accept at least a portion of the actuation assembly (23) and at leasta portion of the ultrasonic transducer (21). To this end, one or moreelectrical contacts (not shown) of the ultrasonic transducer (21)operatively connect with the actuation assembly (23) to provide theoperator with finger-activated controls on the surgical instrument (14).More particularly, the ultrasonic transducer (21) of the present exampleincludes two conductive rings (not shown) that are securely disposedwithin the elongate body (34) of the ultrasonic transducer (21). By wayof example only, such conductive rings and/or other features of theultrasonic transducer (21) may be provided in accordance with at leastsome of the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 8,152,825, entitled “MedicalUltrasound System and Handpiece and Methods for Making and Tuning,”issued Apr. 10, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated byreference herein.

With respect to FIGS. 1-2, the cavity (not shown) also contains a switchassembly (not shown). The switch assembly (not shown) provides anelectro-mechanical interface between the actuation assembly (23) and thegenerator (12) via the ultrasonic transducer (21) and an ultrasonictransducer circuit (42). By way of example, the switch assembly (notshown) may comprise a plurality of contact switches (not shown), such aselectrical contact switches, for selectively directing operation thesurgical system (10), Such electrical contact switches provide anelectrical signal to the generator (12) and/or closes a circuit betweenthe generator (12) and the ultrasonic transducer (21). By way of exampleonly, various components of the switch assembly (not shown) mayoperatively connect to the ultrasonic transducer (21), such as by ringconductors (not shown) of the ultrasonic transducer (21). Thus, when oneor more of the contact switches (not shown) are actuated, the generator(12) activates the ultrasonic transducer (21) to generate ultrasonicvibrations.

As mentioned above, the ultrasonic transducer (21) threadably coupleswith the waveguide (22) of the shaft assembly (26) in this example. Theproximal end of the shaft assembly (26) comprises the torquing mechanism(31) configured to permit coupling of the waveguide (22) with theultrasonic transducer (21); while at the same time limiting the amountof torque that can be applied to the shaft assembly (26) and/or theultrasonic transducer (21). By way of example, the torquing mechanism(31) comprises the rotation knob (32), an annular rack (not shown), anda wave spring (not shown). More particularly, the rotation knob (32) isrotatably disposed about the shaft assembly (26) such that the rotationknob (32) may be rotated about the shaft assembly (26).

During an initial stage of assembly of the surgical instrument (14), anoperator may first align the ultrasonic transducer (21) along alongitudinal axis shared by the handle assembly (24) and the shaftassembly (26), then insert the ultrasonic transducer (21) into theproximal end of the handle assembly (24). The wave spring (not shown)will ensure initial contact between the distal end of the ultrasonictransducer (21) and the proximal end of the waveguide (22) as theultrasonic transducer (21) is inserted into the handle assembly (24).The operator may then grasp the ultrasonic transducer (21) with one handand grasp either the handle assembly (24) or the rotation knob (32) withthe other hand. Once these components are firmly grasped, the operatormay rotate the handle assembly (24) or the rotation knob (32) relativeto the ultrasonic transducer (21) about the longitudinal axis. As such,the handle assembly (24), the rotation knob (32), and the shaft assembly(26) will all rotate together concurrently relative to the ultrasonictransducer (21).

As the handle assembly (24) and the shaft assembly (26) rotate relativeto the ultrasonic transducer (21), the waveguide (22) is threaded ontothe ultrasonic transducer (21) until the waveguide (22) encounters apredetermined resistance to further rotation. The predeterminedresistance indicates that the ultrasonic transducer (21) and thewaveguide (22) are operatively connected at a predetermined torquelevel. As such, the torquing assembly (31) is configured to act as aslip clutch and restrict the amount of torque by which the waveguide(22) may be coupled with the ultrasonic transducer (21).

It should be understood that the above described example of torquingmechanism (31) is merely illustrative. The torquing mechanism (31) maybe constructed and operable in any other suitable fashion. By way ofexample only, the torquing mechanism (31) may be constructed andoperable in accordance with at least some of the teachings of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/087,383, entitled “Features for CouplingSurgical Instrument Shaft Assembly with Instrument Body,” filed on Nov.22, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.Other suitable ways in which the torquing mechanism (31) may beconstructed and operable will be apparent to those of ordinary skill inthe art in view of the teachings herein.

The surgical instrument (14) may further be configured and operable inaccordance with the teachings of U.S. Pub. No. 2008/0200940, entitled“Ultrasonic Energy Device for Cutting and Coagulating,” published Aug.21, 2008, now abandoned, the disclosure of which is incorporated byreference herein. Alternatively, the surgical instrument (14) may beprovided with a variety of other components, configurations, and/ortypes of operability as will be apparent to those of ordinary skill inthe art in view of the teachings herein.

In addition to or in lieu of being constructed in accordance with theabove teachings, at least part of the surgical instrument (14) may beconstructed and operable in accordance with at least some of theteachings of U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,055; U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,873; U.S. Pat.No. 5,980,510; U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,981; U.S. Pat. No. 6,309,400; U.S.Pat. No. 6,325,811; U.S. Pat. No. 6,423,082; U.S. Pat. No. 6,783,524;U.S. Pat. No. 8,057,498; U.S. Pat. No. 8,461,744; U.S. Pub. No.2006/0079874, now abandoned; U.S. Pub. No. 2007/0191713, now abandoned;U.S. Pub. No. 2007/0282333, now abandoned; U.S. Pub. No. 2008/0200940,now abandoned; U.S. Pub. No. 2008/0234710, issued as U.S. Pat. No.8,911,460 on Dec. 16, 2014; U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0069940, issued as U.S.Pat. No. 9,023,071 on May 5, 2015; U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0112687, issued asU.S. Pat. No. 9,381,058 on Jul. 5, 2016; U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0116265, nowabandoned; U.S. Pub. No. 2014/0005701issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,393,037on Jul. 19, 2016; U.S. Pub. No. 2014/0114334, issued as U.S. Pat. No.9,095,367 on Aug. 4, 2015; and/or U.S. Pat. App. No. 61/410,603. Thedisclosures of each of the foregoing patents, publications, andapplications are incorporated by reference herein. Additional merelyillustrative variations for the surgical instrument (14) will beapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachingsherein. It should be understood that the below described variations maybe readily applied to the surgical instrument (14) described above andany of the instruments referred to in any of the references that arecited herein, among others.

C. Exemplary Actuation Assembly

FIGS. 1-2 show one example of the actuation assembly (23) that connectswith the switch assembly (not shown) for both selecting between at leasttwo predetermined ultrasonic power levels and activating the surgicalinstrument (14) accordingly. The actuation assembly (23) includes anactivator element in the form of an activator ring (40); and anactivation mechanism in the form of a collapsible activation collar(42). To this end, the activator ring (40) is configured to selectivelymove along the elongate body (34) and be accessible to the operator fromaround an entirety of an outer circumferential surface (44) of theactivator ring (40). The activation collar (42) connects to theactivator ring (40) such that the activation collar (42) simultaneouslymoves with the activator ring (40) for similar operator access. At leasta portion of the activation collar (42) is configured to selectivelyactivate the ultrasonic transducer (21) to thereby drive the ultrasonicblade (20) to vibrate at the selected ultrasonic power level.

The activator ring (44) and the activation collar (42) generallysurround the elongate body (34) and are received within an annulargroove (46) encircling the elongate body (34). The activator ring (44)and the activation collar (42) similarly encircle the longitudinal axisand are coaxially aligned with the longitudinal axis. In the presentexample, the activator ring (44) and the activation collar (42) bothextend 360 degrees about the longitudinal axis. In some other versions,the activator ring (44) and/or the activation collar (42) extend aboutthe longitudinal axis for less than 360 degrees. For instance, theactivator ring (44) and/or the activation collar (42) may extend alongan arc spanning approximately 90 degrees, 180 degrees, or 270 degreesabout the longitudinal axis. In such versions, the arc along which theactivator ring (44) and/or the activation collar (42) extends may have aconstant radius along that angular range.

In order to select between the at least two predetermined ultrasonicpower levels, the activator ring (44) and the activation collar (42) aretranslatably mounted against the elongate body (34) and are configuredto collectively translate along the longitudinal axis within the annulargroove (46). More particularly, the activator ring (44) and theactivation collar (42) collectively translate between a distal position,an intermediate position, and a proximal position. By way of example,the activator ring (44) and the activation collar (42) in the distalposition is a maximum power position, whereas the proximal position is aminimum power position. In the intermediate position as shown in FIGS.1-2, activator ring (44) and activation collar (42) are configured toprevent activation of the ultrasonic transducer (21) and blade (20). Theintermediate position may also be referred to as an off position. Themaximum and minimum power positions as well as the off positiondescribed herein indicate unique modes of operating the surgicalinstrument (14) during the surgical procedure.

While the terms “maximum” and “minimum” are used herein, it should beunderstood that these do not necessarily indicate the maximum andminimum ultrasonic power levels that the ultrasonic transducer (21) istheoretically capable of operating at. These only indicate the maximumand minimum ultrasonic power levels that are made available to theoperator of instrument (14). It should also be understood thatinstrument (14) may provide various other ultrasonic power levels forthe operator to choose from, such that the availability does not need tobe limited to a “maximum” power level and a “minimum” power level.

The elongate body (34) further includes a plurality of indicia (48, 50)configured to indicate to the operator the selected mode of operationunique to the maximum and minimum positions. The rotation knob (32) hasa “MAX” indicia (48) adjacent to the distal end of the annular groove(46), whereas the elongate body (34) has a “MIN” indicia (50) adjacentto the proximal end of the annular groove (46). As such, translating theactivator ring (44) and the activation collar (42) toward the “MAX”indicia (48) to the distal end of the annular groove (46) indicates tothe operator that the actuation assembly (23) is in the minimumposition, such that the ultrasonic transducer (21) will provide themaximum ultrasonic power level to the ultrasonic blade (20). Similarly,translating the activator ring (44) and the activation collar (42)toward the “MIN” indicia (50) to the proximal end of the annular groove(46) indicates to the operator that the actuation assembly (23) is inthe minimum position, such that the ultrasonic transducer (21) willprovide the minimum ultrasonic power level to the ultrasonic blade (20).While these plurality of indicia (48, 50) show one example forindicating operation of the surgical instrument (18), it will beappreciated that alternative indicia may be used to similarlycommunicate the intended operation to the operator. As such, theseexamples are not intended to unnecessarily limit the invention describedherein.

With respect to FIG. 2, the activation collar (42) extends distally fromthe activator ring (40), which includes an annular lip (52). Thereby,the operator may grip the activation collar (42) with one or morefingers, while simultaneously gripping the annular lip (52) with one ormore of the remaining fingers. Alternatively, in another example, theactivation collar (42) may extend proximally from the activator ring(40) for an alternative grip. It will be appreciated that otheralternatives for connecting the activation collar (42) to the activatorring (40) may be further used for providing a location by which theoperator my grip the actuation assembly (23).

The selective translation of the activator ring (40) with the activationcollar (42) is generally configured to actuate a selector switch (notshown), which operatively directs the selection between the plurality ofpredetermined ultrasonic power levels. In contrast, pressing inwardly onthe activation collar (42) actuates an activation switch (not shown),which directs the generator (12) (see FIG. 1) to power the ultrasonictransducer (21) (see FIG. 1) and generate the ultrasonic oscillations atthe power level selected via the selector switch (not shown). To thisend, the exemplary activation collar (42) shown in FIG. 2 iscompressible from an expanded state to a contacted state for actuatingthe activation switch (not shown). According to one example, theactivation collar (42) is biased radially outwardly from thelongitudinal axis in the expanded state. The operator radiallycompresses the activation collar (42) inwardly toward the longitudinalaxis (e.g., by pinching the activation collar (42) or otherwise pressinginwardly on collar (42)) in order to actuate the activation switch (notshown) in the contracted state and thereby activate the blade (20) (seeFIG. 1). In turn, releasing the activation collar (42) allows theactivation collar (42) to return outwardly to the expanded state andthereby deactivate the blade (20) (see FIG. 1). Thus, the activationcollar (42) is configured to inhibit the ultrasonic transducer (21) (seeFIG. 1) from oscillating the blade (20) (see FIG. 1) in the expandedstate unless activation collar (42) is being selectively compressed bythe operator.

In some versions, an inner surface (not shown) of the activation collar(42) includes a set of electrically conductive features (not shown),while the elongate body (34) within the annular groove (46) includesanother set of complementary electrically conductive features (notshown). Compressing the activation collar (42) toward the elongate body(34) thereby brings these sets of complementary electrically conductivefeatures (not shown) in contact with each other in order to close anactivation circuit of the control circuitry (not shown) of the surgicalinstrument (14) and thereby activate the ultrasonic generator (21) (seeFIG. 1), thereby activating the ultrasonic transducer (21).Alternatively, the handpiece (18) may include a distal set of thin filmswitches (not shown) within in the groove (46) and a proximal set ofthin film switches (not shown) within the groove (46). The distal andproximal switches (not shown) may thus be actuated when the activationcollar (42) is compressed to the contracted state for closing theactivation circuit in control circuitry (not shown). Other suitablefeatures and configurations that may be used to provide activation ofthe ultrasonic transducer (21) (see FIG. 1) in response to compressionof activation collar (42) will be apparent to those of ordinary skill inthe art in view of the teachings herein.

As shown in FIG. 2, the activator ring (44) and activation collar (42)in the off position are configured to prevent activation of theultrasonic generator (21) (see FIG. 1) (and, hence, the ultrasonictransducer (21)) despite compression of the activation collar (42). Forexample, the activation circuit of the control circuitry (not shown) maybe configured to be in an open state when activator ring (44) andactivation collar (42) in the off position. For instance, complementaryelectrical contacts may be non-aligned with each other such that theywill not come into contact with each other when activation collar (42)is compressed while in the off position. As another merely illustrativeexample, activation collar (42) may be configured such that it does notactuate thin film switches within the groove (46) when activation collar(42) is compressed while in the off position. Thus, the activationcircuit of the control circuitry (not shown) of the present example willalways remain in an open state when the activator ring (44) andactivation collar (42) are in the off position, thereby preventingactivation of the ultrasonic generator (21) (and, hence, the ultrasonictransducer (21)).

With respect to FIGS. 3A-4B, the operator grips the actuation assembly(23) with at least one hand for translating the actuation assembly (23)within the annular grove (46). The operator has access to the actuationassembly (23) from around generally the entirety of the surgicalinstrument (14) given that the actuation assembly (23) generallysurrounds the elongate body (34). Thereby, the operator may activate thesurgical instrument (14) as described below from a variety of anglesduring the surgical procedure for improved ease of use.

FIGS. 3A-3B show one example of the surgical instrument (14) in use toprovide the high ultrasonic power level during the surgical procedure.With respect to FIG. 3A, the operator selects the high power position.If the actuation assembly (23) is not already in the high powerposition, the operator translates the actuation assembly (23) distallyto the distal end of the annular groove (46) in order to select the highpower position. To activate the blade (20) (see FIG. 1), the operatorcompresses the activation collar (42) from the expanded state, shown inFIG. 3A, to the contracted state in FIG. 3B in order to close theactivation circuit in control circuitry (not shown), as discussed above.The operator may then release the activation collar (42) to deactivatethe blade (20). Alternatively, rather than release the activation collar(42), the operator may translate the actuation assembly proximally tothe low power position to activate the blade (20) at the low ultrasonicpower level.

FIGS. 4A-4B show another example of the surgical instrument (14) in useto provide the low ultrasonic power level during the surgical procedure.With respect to FIG. 4A, the operator selects the low power position. Ifthe actuation assembly (23) is not already in the low power position,the operator translates the actuation assembly (23) proximally to theproximal end of the annular groove (46) to select the low powerposition. To activate the blade (20) (see FIG. 1), the operatorcompresses the activation collar (42) from the expanded state, shown inFIG. 4A, to the contracted state in FIG. 4B in order to close theactivation circuit in the control circuitry (not shown), as discussedabove. The operator may then release the activation collar (42) todeactivate the blade (20). Alternatively, rather than release theactivation collar (42) the operator may translate the actuation assembly(23) distally to the high power position to activate the blade (20) atthe high ultrasonic power level. Of course, it will be appreciated thatthe activator ring (40) and the activation collar (42) may be engaged avariety of combinations for uniquely treating the patient during thesurgical procedure. Thus, the specific operation of the surgicalinstrument (14) described herein is not intended to unnecessarily limitthe invention.

D. Exemplary Alternative Actuation Assemblies

In some instances, it may be desirable to provide a surgical instrument(114) with an alternative form of actuation assembly (123). Inparticular, it may be desirable to provide the surgical instrument (114)with the actuation assembly (123) that includes an activator ring (140)that rotates about the longitudinal axis of an elongate body (134). Inaddition, it may also be desirable to provide the surgical instrument(114) with the actuation assembly (123) that includes the activationelement in the form of an activation button (142) for activating thesurgical instrument (114). Various examples of alternative actuationassemblies are described in greater detail below; while further exampleswill be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of theteachings herein. It should be understood that the various actuationassemblies described below may be readily incorporated into the surgicalinstrument (14) in place of the actuation assembly (23). As such, likenumbers described below indicate like features described above.

FIGS. 5-6 show one merely illustrative example of a handpiece (118) andhandle assembly (124) having the actuation assembly (123) for bothselecting between at least two predetermined oscillations and activatingthe surgical instrument (114). The actuation assembly (123) includes anactivator element in the form of an activator ring (140); and theactivation element in the form of an activation button (142). Theactivation button (142) is operable to activate the ultrasonictransducer (21) (see FIG. 1) to thereby activate the blade (20) (seeFIG. 1). To this end, the activator ring (140) freely rotates about theelongate body (134), while the activation button (142) actuates theactivation switch (not shown) for directing the ultrasonic transducer toselectively drive the ultrasonic blade (20) (see FIG. 1) to vibrateultrasonically during use.

The activator ring (44) generally surrounds the elongate body (134) andmay be received within an annular groove (not shown) encircling theelongate body (134). The activator ring (144) similarly encircles thelongitudinal axis and is coaxial with the longitudinal axis. In order toselect between the at least two predetermined ultrasonic power levelswhile simultaneously activating the surgical instrument (114), theactivation button (142) projects from the activator ring (44) and isselectively movable between a plurality of positions. By way of example,the activation button is selectively movable between a high position, alow position, and an off position. The activation button (142) in thehigh position actuates the activation switch (not shown) and directs theultrasonic transducer (21) (see FIG. 1) to drive the blade (20) (seeFIG. 1) at the high ultrasonic power level. The activation button (142)in the low position actuates the activation switch (not shown) furtherand directs the ultrasonic transducer (21) (see FIG. 1) to drive theblade (20) (see FIG. 1) at the low ultrasonic power level. In contrast,the activation button (142) in the off position inhibits activation ofthe ultrasonic transducer (21) (see FIG. 1) and thereby preventsultrasonic oscillation of the blade (20) (see FIG. 1) during use. Thehigh, low, and off positions described herein indicate unique modes ofoperating the surgical instrument (114) during the surgical procedure,such as with a high power predetermined oscillation and a low powerpredetermined oscillation. However, it will be appreciated that thehigh, low, and off positions may vary depending on the type of buttonand/or switch used in alternative examples. As such, the invention isnot intended to be unnecessarily limited to the order and description ofthe high, low, and off positions provided herein.

In some versions, the activation button (142) includes a rocker switch(not shown) having electrically conductive features (not shown) foropening and closing the activation circuit in control circuitry (notshown) within the handpiece (118). The rocker switch (not shown) mayrock distally and proximally for respectively closing the activationcircuit in control circuitry (not shown) in order to activate theultrasonic generator (21) (see FIG. 1) with the maximum and minimumpredetermined power levels. Furthermore, the rocker switch (not shown)may remain in an intermediate position configured to open the activationcircuit in control circuitry (not shown) and prevent activation of theultrasonic generator (21). Alternatively, the activation button (142)may include a slider switch (not shown) having other electricallyconductive features (not shown) for opening and closing the activationcircuit in control circuitry (not shown) within the handpiece (118).Like the rocker switch (not shown), the slider switch (not shown) mayslide distally and proximally for respectively closing the activationcircuit in control circuitry (not shown) in order to activate theultrasonic generator (21) (see FIG. 1) with the maximum and minimumpredetermined power levels. The slider switch (not shown) may alsoremain in an intermediate position configured to open the activationcircuit in control circuitry (not shown) and prevent activation of theultrasonic generator (21).

As described briefly above, the activator ring (44) is configured tofreely rotate about the elongate body (134) such that the operator mayposition the activation button (142) in any desirable angular positionabout the elongate body (134). With respect to FIG. 6, the activationbutton (42) is operatively connected to the elongate body (134) and theactivation switch (not shown) by a plurality of contact elements (154).Each of the contact elements (154) is configured to communicate theselection of the high ultrasonic power level or the low ultrasonic powerlevel while still allowing the activator ring (140) to freely rotateabout the elongate body (134). For example, the contact elements (154)shown in FIG. 6 are in the form of pogo pins for maintaining constantcontact and electrical continuity with complementary contact features ofthe elongate body (134) during rotation of the activator ring (140).

With respect to FIGS. 5-6, the operator grips the actuation assembly(123) with at least one hand for rotating the actuation assembly (123)within the annular grove (not shown) to any desirable position foraccessing the activation button (142). The operator has access to theactuation assembly (123) from around generally the entirety of thesurgical instrument (114) given that the actuation assembly (23)generally surrounds the elongate body (134). In addition, the activatorring (140) further includes an annular lip (152) and a plurality ofrecesses (156) radially disposed about an outer circumferential surface(144) for providing additional grip.

In use, the operator selects from one of the high power, the low power,or the off positions to selectively operate the blade (20) (see FIG. 1)as described herein. The operator may also freely rotate the activatorring (140) while simultaneously activating or deactivating the surgicalinstrument (114) for treating the patient. Of course, it will beappreciated that the activator ring (140) and the activation button(142) may be respectively rotated and engaged in a variety ofcombinations for uniquely treating the patient during the surgicalprocedure. Thus, the specific operation of the surgical instrument (114)described herein is not intended to unnecessarily limit the invention.

III. Exemplary Combinations

The following examples relate to various non-exhaustive ways in whichthe teachings herein may be combined or applied. It should be understoodthat the following examples are not intended to restrict the coverage ofany claims that may be presented at any time in this application or insubsequent filings of this application. No disclaimer is intended. Thefollowing examples are being provided for nothing more than merelyillustrative purposes. It is contemplated that the various teachingsherein may be arranged and applied in numerous other ways. It is alsocontemplated that some variations may omit certain features referred toin the below examples. Therefore, none of the aspects or featuresreferred to below should be deemed critical unless otherwise explicitlyindicated as such at a later date by the inventors or by a successor ininterest to the inventors. If any claims are presented in thisapplication or in subsequent filings related to this application thatinclude additional features beyond those referred to below, thoseadditional features shall not be presumed to have been added for anyreason relating to patentability.

Example 1

An ultrasonic instrument for use during a surgical procedure,comprising: (a) a body defining a longitudinal axis and configured toreceive an ultrasonic transducer for selectively generating anultrasonic oscillation at a first predetermined power level and anultrasonic oscillation at a second predetermined power level; (b) ashaft assembly projecting from the body, the shaft assembly including anacoustic waveguide configured to communicate the ultrasonic oscillationat the selected first or second predetermined power level therealong;(c) an ultrasonic blade connected to the acoustic waveguide such thatthe acoustic waveguide communicates the ultrasonic oscillation at theselected first or second predetermined power level to the ultrasonicblade; and (d) an actuation assembly connected to the body andconfigured to operatively connect to the ultrasonic transducer forselective operation of the ultrasonic blade, the actuation assemblycomprising: (i) an activator ring having an outer circumferentialsurface generally surrounding the body and being selectively moveablerelative to the body such that the activator ring is accessible to begripped by an operator around an entirety of the outer circumferentialsurface, and (ii) an activation mechanism connected to the activatorring such that the activation mechanism is configured to selectivelymove relative to the body in conjunction with the activator ring,wherein at least a portion of the activation mechanism is configured toselectively activate the ultrasonic transducer to drive the ultrasonicblade at the selected first or second predetermined power level.

Example 2

The ultrasonic instrument of Example 1, wherein the activation mechanismfurther includes an activation collar extending longitudinally from theactivator ring about the longitudinal axis, and the activation collar isconfigured to selectively activate the ultrasonic transducer to drivethe ultrasonic blade at the selected first or second predetermined powerlevel.

Example 3

The ultrasonic instrument of Example 2, wherein the activation collar iscompressible from an expanded state to a contracted state such that inthe expanded state the activation collar is configured to prevent theultrasonic transducer from driving the ultrasonic blade, and in thecontracted state the activation collar is configured to activate theultrasonic transducer to drive the ultrasonic blade at the selectedfirst or second predetermined power level.

Example 4

The ultrasonic instrument of any one or more of Examples 2 through 3,wherein the activation collar is radially biased outwardly from thelongitudinal axis toward the expanded state.

Example 5

The ultrasonic instrument of any one or more of Examples 2 through 4,wherein the activator ring and the activation collar are translatablymounted to the body to selectively translate along the longitudinal axisbetween a first position and a second position such that compressing theactivation collar to the contracted state in the first position isconfigured to direct the ultrasonic transducer to oscillate theultrasonic blade with the ultrasonic oscillation at the firstpredetermined power level and compressing the activation collar to thecontracted state in the second position is configured to direct theultrasonic transducer to oscillate the ultrasonic blade with theultrasonic oscillation at the second predetermined power level.

Example 6

The ultrasonic instrument of any one or more of Examples 1 through 5,wherein the first predetermined power level is a high predeterminedpower level and the second predetermined power level is a lowpredetermined power level.

Example 7

The ultrasonic instrument of any one or more of Examples 2 through 7,wherein the body further includes a first indicia and a second indicia,the first indicia is configured to indicate to the operator that theactivator ring and the activation collar are in the first position fordirecting the ultrasonic blade to oscillate with the ultrasonicoscillation at the first predetermined power level, and the secondindicia is configured to indicate to the operator that the activatorring and the activation collar are in the second position for directingthe ultrasonic blade to oscillate with the ultrasonic oscillation at thesecond predetermined power level.

Example 8

The ultrasonic instrument of Example 7, wherein the first predeterminedpower level is a high predetermined power level, the secondpredetermined power level is a low predetermined power level, and thefirst indicia and the second indicia are configured to respectivelyindicate selection of the high and low predetermined power levels.

Example 9

The ultrasonic instrument of Example 1, wherein the activator ring isrotatably mounted to the body to rotate about the longitudinal axis, theactivation mechanism further includes an activation button projectingfrom the activator ring, and the activation button is configured toselectively direct the ultrasonic transducer to oscillate with theultrasonic oscillation at the selected first or second predeterminedpower level.

Example 10

The ultrasonic instrument of Example 9 wherein the first predeterminedpower level is a high predetermined power level and the secondpredetermined power level is a low predetermined power level.

Example 11

The ultrasonic instrument of any one or more of Examples 9 through 10,wherein the activator ring is configured to rotate freely around thebody.

Example 12

The ultrasonic instrument of any one or more of Examples 1 through 11,wherein the activator ring further includes a plurality of contactelements projecting therefrom to the body, the plurality of contactelements configured to maintain electrical continuity between therotatable activator ring and the body for electrical communicationtherebetween.

Example 13

The ultrasonic instrument of Example 12, wherein the plurality ofcontact elements includes a plurality of pogo pins.

Example 14

The ultrasonic instrument of any one or more of Examples 9 through 13,wherein the activation button is selectively movable between a firstposition, a second position, and a third position such that in the firstposition the activation button is configured to direct the ultrasonictransducer to oscillate the ultrasonic blade with the ultrasonicoscillation at the first predetermined power level, in the secondposition the activation button is configured to direct the ultrasonictransducer to oscillate the ultrasonic blade with the ultrasonicoscillation at the second predetermined power level, and in the thirdposition the activation button is configured to prevent activation ofthe ultrasonic transducer.

Example 15

The ultrasonic instrument of any one or more of Examples 1 through 14,wherein the activator ring further includes a plurality of recessesangularly spaced about the outer circumferential surface for furtherbeing gripped by the operator.

Example 16

An ultrasonic instrument for use during a surgical procedure,comprising: (a) a body defining a longitudinal axis and configured toreceive an ultrasonic transducer for selectively generating anultrasonic oscillation at a first predetermined power level and anultrasonic oscillation at a second predetermined power level; (b) ashaft assembly projecting from the body, the shaft assembly including anacoustic waveguide configured to communicate the ultrasonic oscillationat the selected first or second predetermined power level therealong;(c) an ultrasonic blade connected to the acoustic waveguide such thatthe acoustic waveguide communicates the ultrasonic oscillation at theselected first or second predetermined power level to the ultrasonicblade; and (d) an actuation assembly connected to the body andconfigured to operatively connect to the ultrasonic transducer forselective operation of the ultrasonic blade, the actuation assemblycomprising: (i) an activator element being selectively moveable alongthe body such that the activator element is accessible to be gripped byan operator around an entirety of the outer circumferential surface; and(ii) an activation mechanism operatively connected to the activatorelement such that the activation mechanism is configured to selectivelymove along the body in conjunction with the activator element, whereinat least a portion of the activation mechanism is configured toselectively direct the ultrasonic transducer to oscillate the ultrasonicblade with the ultrasonic oscillation at the selected first or secondpredetermined power level.

Example 17

A method of operating an ultrasonic instrument during a surgicalprocedure, the ultrasonic instrument having a body, a shaft assembly, anultrasonic blade, and an actuation assembly, the body defining alongitudinal axis and configured to receive an ultrasonic transducer forselectively generating an ultrasonic oscillation at a firstpredetermined power level and an ultrasonic oscillation at a secondpredetermined power level, the shaft assembly projecting from the body,the shaft assembly including an acoustic waveguide configured tocommunicate the selected first or second predetermined oscillationtherealong, the ultrasonic blade connected to the acoustic waveguidesuch that the acoustic waveguide communicates the selected first orsecond predetermined oscillation to the ultrasonic blade, the actuationassembly connected to the body and configured to operatively connect tothe ultrasonic transducer for selective operation of the ultrasonicblade, the actuation assembly having an activator element beingselectively movable along the body such that the activator element isaccessible to be gripped by an operator around an entirety of the outercircumferential surface, and an activation mechanism operativelyconnected to the activator element such that the activation mechanismselectively moves along the body in conjunction with the activatorelement, the method comprising: (a) gripping the activator element withat least one hand of the operator; (b) moving the activator elementsimultaneously with the activation mechanism relative to the body of theultrasonic instrument; and (c) engaging the activation mechanism anddirecting the ultrasonic blade to oscillate with one of the first orsecond predetermined oscillations.

Example 18

The method of Example 17, wherein the activator element is an activatorring that generally surrounds the body, and the method furthercomprises: (a) moving the activator ring and the activation mechanismrelative to the body between a first position and a second position; and(b) selecting at least one of the first position and the second positionin order to respectively select the first predetermined oscillation orthe second predetermined oscillation.

Example 19

The method of Example 18, wherein the activation mechanism furtherincludes an activation collar extending longitudinally from theactivator ring about the longitudinal axis, and engaging the activationmechanism further comprises: compressing the activation collar from anexpanded state to a contracted state.

Example 20

The method of Example 17, wherein the activator element is an activatorring that generally surrounds the body, and the method furthercomprises: rotating the activator ring about the longitudinal axis andorienting the ultrasonic blade to a selected position during thesurgical procedure.

IV. Miscellaneous

While several of the examples described above include contact switches(not shown), it should be understood that any other suitable kind ofswitches may be used. Moreover, various other kinds of structures may beused to provide an electrical signal to the generator (12), to close acircuit between the generator (12) and the ultrasonic transducer (21),and/or to otherwise selectively activate the ultrasonic transducer (21)and/or the waveguide (22). Various suitable alternatives will beapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachingsherein. It is contemplated that all of these alternatives are includedwithin the meaning of the broad term “switch.”

It should be understood that any of the versions of instrumentsdescribed herein may include various other features in addition to or inlieu of those described above. By way of example only, any of theinstruments described herein may also include one or more of the variousfeatures disclosed in any of the various references that areincorporated by reference herein. It should also be understood that theteachings herein may be readily applied to any of the instrumentsdescribed in any of the other references cited herein, such that theteachings herein may be readily combined with the teachings of any ofthe references cited herein in numerous ways. Other types of instrumentsinto which the teachings herein may be incorporated will be apparent tothose of ordinary skill in the art.

It should also be understood that any ranges of values referred toherein should be read to include the upper and lower boundaries of suchranges. For instance, a range expressed as ranging “betweenapproximately 1.0 inches and approximately 1.5 inches” should be read toinclude approximately 1.0 inches and approximately 1.5 inches, inaddition to including the values between those upper and lowerboundaries.

It should be appreciated that any patent, publication, or otherdisclosure material, in whole or in part, that is said to beincorporated by reference herein is incorporated herein only to theextent that the incorporated material does not conflict with existingdefinitions, statements, or other disclosure material set forth in thisdisclosure. As such, and to the extent necessary, the disclosure asexplicitly set forth herein supersedes any conflicting materialincorporated herein by reference. Any material, or portion thereof, thatis said to be incorporated by reference herein, but which conflicts withexisting definitions, statements, or other disclosure material set forthherein will only be incorporated to the extent that no conflict arisesbetween that incorporated material and the existing disclosure material.

Versions of the devices described above may have application inconventional medical treatments and procedures conducted by a medicalprofessional, as well as application in robotic-assisted medicaltreatments and procedures. By way of example only, various teachingsherein may be readily incorporated into a robotic surgical system suchas the DAVNCI™ system by Intuitive Surgical, Inc., of Sunnyvale, Calif.Similarly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious teachings herein may be readily combined with various teachingsof U.S. Pat. No. 6,783,524, entitled “Robotic Surgical Tool withUltrasound Cauterizing and Cutting Instrument,” published Aug. 31, 2004,the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

Versions described above may be designed to be disposed of after asingle use, or they can be designed to be used multiple times. Versionsmay, in either or both cases, be reconditioned for reuse after at leastone use. Reconditioning may include any combination of the steps ofdisassembly of the device, followed by cleaning or replacement ofparticular pieces, and subsequent reassembly. In particular, someversions of the device may be disassembled, and any number of theparticular pieces or parts of the device may be selectively replaced orremoved in any combination. Upon cleaning and/or replacement ofparticular parts, some versions of the device may be reassembled forsubsequent use either at a reconditioning facility, or by an operatorimmediately prior to a procedure. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that reconditioning of a device may utilize a variety oftechniques for disassembly, cleaning/replacement, and reassembly. Use ofsuch techniques, and the resulting reconditioned device, are all withinthe scope of the present application.

By way of example only, versions described herein may be sterilizedbefore and/or after a procedure. In one sterilization technique, thedevice is placed in a closed and sealed container, such as a plastic orTYVEK bag. The container and device may then be placed in a field ofradiation that can penetrate the container, such as gamma radiation,x-rays, or high-energy electrons. The radiation may kill bacteria on thedevice and in the container. The sterilized device may then be stored inthe sterile container for later use. A device may also be sterilizedusing any other technique known in the art, including but not limited tobeta or gamma radiation, ethylene oxide, or steam.

Having shown and described various embodiments of the present invention,further adaptations of the methods and systems described herein may beaccomplished by appropriate modifications by one of ordinary skill inthe art without departing from the scope of the present invention.Several of such potential modifications have been mentioned, and otherswill be apparent to those skilled in the art. For instance, theexamples, embodiments, geometrics, materials, dimensions, ratios, steps,and the like discussed above are illustrative and are not required.Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be considered interms of the following claims and is understood not to be limited to thedetails of structure and operation shown and described in thespecification and drawings.

We claim:
 1. An ultrasonic instrument for use during a surgicalprocedure, comprising: (a) a body defining a longitudinal axis andconfigured to receive an ultrasonic transducer for electively generatingan ultrasonic oscillation at a first predetermined power level and anultrasonic oscillation at a second predetermined power level; (b) ashaft assembly projecting from the body, the shaft assembly including anacoustic waveguide configured to communicate the ultrasonic oscillationat the selected first or second predetermined power level therealong;(c) an ultrasonic blade connected to the acoustic waveguide such thatthe acoustic waveguide communicates the ultrasonic oscillation at theselected first or second predetermined power level to the ultrasonicblade; and (d) an actuation assembly connected to the body andconfigured to operatively connect to the ultrasonic transducer forselective operation of the ultrasonic blade, the actuation assemblycomprising: (i) an activator ring having an outer circumferentialsurface generally surrounding the body about the entirety of thelongitudinal axis and being selectively moveable relative to the bodysuch that the activator ring is accessible to be gripped by an operatoraround an entirety of the outer circumferential surface, and (ii) anactivation mechanism connected to the activator ring such that theactivation mechanism is configured to selectively move relative to thebody in conjunction with the activator ring, wherein at least anactivation portion of the activation mechanism is configured toselectively activate the ultrasonic transducer to drive the ultrasonicblade at the selected first or second predetermined power level, whereinthe activation portion of the activation mechanism circumferentiallyenvelops the body about the longitudinal axis and is configured to beurged inward toward the body in any angular position about the entiretyof the longitudinal axis relative to the body to thereby activate theultrasonic transducer from any angular position.
 2. The ultrasonicinstrument of claim 1, wherein the activation portion of the activationmechanism further includes an activation collar extending longitudinallyfrom the activator ring about the longitudinal axis, and the activationcollar circumferentially envelops the body about the longitudinal axisand is configured to selectively activate the ultrasonic transducer todrive the ultrasonic blade at the selected first or second predeterminedpower level.
 3. The ultrasonic instrument of claim 2, wherein theactivation collar is compressible from an expanded state to a contractedstate such that in the expanded state the activation collar isconfigured to prevent the ultrasonic transducer from driving theultrasonic blade, and in the contracted state the activation collar isconfigured to activate the ultrasonic transducer to drive the ultrasonicblade at the selected first or second predetermined power level.
 4. Theultrasonic instrument of claim 3, wherein the activation collar isradially biased outwardly from the longitudinal axis toward the expandedstate.
 5. The ultrasonic instrument of claim 3, wherein the activatorring and the activation collar are translatably mounted to the body toselectively translate along the longitudinal axis between a firstposition and a second position such that compressing the activationcollar to the contracted state in the first position is configured todirect the ultrasonic transducer to oscillate the ultrasonic blade withthe ultrasonic oscillation at the first predetermined power level andcompressing the activation collar to the contracted state in the secondposition is configured to direct the ultrasonic transducer to oscillatethe ultrasonic blade with the ultrasonic oscillation at the secondpredetermined power level.
 6. The ultrasonic instrument of claim 5,wherein the first predetermined power level is a high predeterminedpower level and the second predetermined power level is a lowpredetermined power level.
 7. The ultrasonic instrument of claim 5,wherein the body further includes a first indicia and a second indicia,the first indicia is configured to indicate to the operator that theactivator ring and the activation collar are in the first position fordirecting the ultrasonic blade to oscillate with the ultrasonicoscillation at the first predetermined power level, and the secondindicia is configured to indicate to the operator that the activatorring and the activation collar are in the second position for directingthe ultrasonic blade to oscillate with the ultrasonic oscillation at thesecond predetermined power level.
 8. The ultrasonic instrument of claim7, wherein the first predetermined power level is a high predeterminedpower level, the second predetermined power level is a low predeterminedpower level, and the first indicia and the second indicia are configuredto respectively indicate selection of the high and low predeterminedpower levels.
 9. An ultrasonic instrument for use during a surgicalprocedure, comprising: (a) a body defining a longitudinal axis andconfigured to receive an ultrasonic transducer for selectivelygenerating an ultrasonic oscillation at a first predetermined powerlevel and an ultrasonic oscillation at a second predetermined powerlevel; (b) a shaft assembly projecting from the body, the shaft assemblyincluding an acoustic waveguide configured to communicate the ultrasonicoscillation at the selected first or second predetermined power leveltherealong; (c) an ultrasonic blade connected to the acoustic waveguidesuch that the acoustic waveguide communicates the ultrasonic oscillationat the selected first or second predetermined power level to theultrasonic blade; and (d) an actuation assembly connected to the bodyand configured to operatively connect to the ultrasonic transducer forselective operation of the ultrasonic blade, the actuation assemblycomprising: (i) an activator element being selectively moveable alongthe body such that the activator element is accessible to be gripped byan operator around an entirety of an outer circumferential surface, and(ii) an activation mechanism operatively connected to the activatorelement such that the activation mechanism is configured to selectivelymove along the body in conjunction with the activator element, whereinat least an activation portion of the activation mechanism iscompressible from an expanded state to a contracted state and configuredto selectively direct the ultrasonic transducer to oscillate theultrasonic blade in the contracted state with the ultrasonic oscillationat the selected first or second predetermined power level, wherein theactivation portion in the expanded state defines a first diametersurrounding the longitudinal axis that circumferentially envelops thebody about the longitudinal axis, wherein the activation portion in thecontracted state defines a second diameter surrounding the longitudinalaxis that circumferentially envelops the body about the longitudinalaxis, wherein the second diameter is smaller than the first diameter,and wherein the activation portion in the expanded state with the firstdiameter is configured to be urged toward the contracted state with thesecond diameter from any angular position about the entirety of thelongitudinal axis relative to the body to thereby activate theultrasonic transducer from any angular position.
 10. A method ofoperating an ultrasonic instrument during a surgical procedure, theultrasonic instrument having a body, a shaft assembly, an ultrasonicblade, and an actuation assembly, the body defining a longitudinal axisand configured to receive an ultrasonic transducer for selectivelygenerating an ultrasonic oscillation at a first predetermined powerlevel and an ultrasonic oscillation at a second predetermined powerlevel, the shaft assembly projecting from the body, the shaft assemblyincluding an acoustic waveguide configured to communicate the ultrasonicoscillation at the selected first or second predetermined power leveltherealong, the ultrasonic blade connected to the acoustic waveguidesuch that the acoustic waveguide communicates the ultrasonic oscillationat the selected first or second predetermined power level to theultrasonic blade, the actuation assembly connected to the body andconfigured to operatively connect to the ultrasonic transducer forselective operation of the ultrasonic blade, the actuation assemblyhaving an activator element being selectively movable along the bodysuch that the activator element is accessible to be gripped by anoperator around an entirety of an outer circumferential surface, and anactivation mechanism operatively connected to the activator element suchthat the activation mechanism selectively moves along the body inconjunction with the activator element, wherein at least an activationportion of the activation mechanism is configured to selectively directthe ultrasonic transducer to oscillate the ultrasonic blade with theultrasonic oscillation at the selected first or second predeterminedpower level, wherein the activation portion of the activation mechanismcircumferentially envelops the body about the longitudinal axis and isconfigured to surround the body about the entirety of the longitudinalaxis and be urged radially inward from any angular position about thelongitudinal axis to thereby activate the ultrasonic transducer from anyangular position, the method comprising: (a) gripping the activatorelement with at least one hand of the operator; (b) moving the activatorelement simultaneously with the activation mechanism relative to thebody of the ultrasonic instrument; (c) selecting a first angularposition from any of the angular positions about the entirety of thelongitudinal axis; and (d) engaging the activation portion of theactivation mechanism that circumferentially envelops the body about thelongitudinal axis in the first angular position and urging theactivation portion inward toward the body thereby directing theultrasonic blade to oscillate with one of the first or secondpredetermined power levels.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein theactivator element is an activator ring that generally surrounds thebody, and the method further comprises: (a) moving the activator ringand the activation mechanism relative to the body between a firstposition and a second position; and (b) selecting at least one of thefirst position and the second position in order to respectively selectthe first predetermined power level or the second predetermined powerlevel.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the activation mechanismfurther includes an activation collar extending longitudinally from theactivator ring about the longitudinal axis, and engaging the activationmechanism further comprises compressing the activation collar from anexpanded state to a contracted state.